Artists unveil 'paintbombed' mural at Mac's

Art gallery Die Active group members spent a week painting the side of the Simpson St. store

A group of artists, including local professional graffiti artists, paintbombed the Mac's at 745 Simpson St. in Thunder Bay. The large-scale professional contemporary wall art painting was designed and executed by more than a dozen youth involved in the Die Active group, following mentorship workshops and training at Definitely Superior Art Gallery.
(Josh Lynn/CBC)

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Some young artists in Thunder Bay have been putting the finishing touches on their latest creation on the side of a Mac’s Convenience store in the city’s south end.

The spray-painted wall mural at 745 Simpson St. was to be unveiled Tuesday night, after a week of effort put in by more than a dozen artists involved with Definitely Superior Art Gallery's youth art collective, Die Active.

"Everybody who walks by and sees the project … they can feel it's worth and see the hard work and the talent," said Lora Northway, Die Active's lead organizer and Definitely Superior Art Gallery youth outreach co-ordinator.

"That's the feedback we're getting. They're saying 'thank you for giving us this’."

The group also painted a wall at the Mac's May and Dease Street location last year.

Northway said that particular mural has become a bit of a local landmark, with people in the neighbourhood proudly pointing it to visitors.

A 'personalized' Mac's

This year’s artistic venture was done in partnership with Mac's, Thunder Bay Crime Stoppers and Evergreen.

"[There are] 15 artists involved," Northway said. "All of them work in different styles. Some of them are traditional graffiti artists, with a lot of experience, [while] others are new members, 16-17 year-old members. [Die Active] is open to brand new artists and we have several workshops that mentor them, to teach them how to do this style of art."

The mural also paints a larger picture of community involvement and ownership, particularly in light of a rash of robberies that have plagued Mac’s stores across Thunder Bay.

"It's an opportunity to improve the community and create a sort of personalized Mac's, give it back to the community, make it feel like it's your Mac's," Northway said.

"Street art is something that, if it's done really well, and the artists put a lot of thought and planning into the work, it's evident in the end result."